AUSTRALIAN LAW OF DEFAMATION

The tort of defamation consists of the communication of a defamatory meaning and of concerning the plaintiff to a person other than the plaintiff. This tort is actionable per se and the onus is on the plaintiff to prove on the balance of probability that the meaning relied upon by the plaintiff was conveyed by the publication and that meaning was defamatory to him or her.

The elements of this tort

1. defamatory matter

Defamatory matter may be written or oral or published in some other tangible form. The matter itself is not defamatory unless a person of average intelligence could reasonably place upon it an interpretation which is defamatory. That may be so even if known to be false. The matter extends to both imputations concerning moral characteristics and those concerning ability, if such imputations are likely to discredit the person.

The natural and ordinary meaning is the basis for construction of words. Accordingly, any strained or utterly unreasonable inte...